First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP Takes $2.72 Million Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,000 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,722,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in PulteGroup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company's stock worth $556,465,000 after buying an additional 64,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $427,562,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in PulteGroup by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,425,941 shares of the construction company's stock worth $264,185,000 after buying an additional 315,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in PulteGroup by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,859,029 shares of the construction company's stock worth $202,448,000 after buying an additional 232,939 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.57. 1,157,169 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,998,551. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.69.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.